What do you think is the real problem with the baseball team?

[Todd4State]

What I see:

To me, what it comes down to is basically a lack of attention to detail and trusting our players to handle things on their own too much and expecting them to do things on their own. You CAN NOT do that in college baseball. The head coach has to be the one that drives the program and makes sure that everything and everyone is doing their job. When we had Ron Polk as our coach in his heyday we were probably the most fundamentally sound team in the country. That only happens because we worked relentlessly at it. Cohen was really good as a baseball coach because he was able to identify leaders through recruiting and he also made sure we had every aspect of the game covered as well. The results from those two coaches speak for themselves. That is the basic summary of what I see. The rest of this post I will go a little more in depth.

There are five tools in baseball- pitching, defense, hitting, hitting for power, and base running and I as a fan have two other areas- leadership and baseball IQ. An elite head coach should address ALL seven tools both in the offseason as well as in season.

Hitting and hitting for power I will lump together for this post. We try to pull the ball too much and we do not do a good job of adjusting to the pitcher or the game situation. And this goes with what I was talking about above. We seem to expect our hitters to know what to do. But the REALITY is all of our hitters were alphas in high school. And therefore they were never or rarely asked to hit situationally because a lot of high school and travel ball coaches do not want to take the bat out of their best hitter or one of their best hitters hands. So when these hitters get to college they HAVE TO be coached what to do in situations and do things that they really haven't been asked to do very much. Like protect the plate, hit the ball to the opposite field, get the ball in the air with a runner on third and less than two outs, etc. Because we are not coaching that- and I know we aren't because NO ONE on the team is doing it unless it's an accident- our hitters are simply doing what they have their whole life. Gautreau allows our hitters to fail too much before fixing them which is why we typically get better as the season goes along- but I do not like that philosophy because IMO you should not allow guys to fail just to fail. We should be working on hitting balls at the full speed of the starting pitcher we are going to face- which we should know from scouting reports, we should be working on hitting off speed, and we should be dedicating part of our practice to situational hitting with every hitter we have. Once we do that our average, OBP, etc. will increase and then along with that our power will improve as well because our hitters will be much more dangerous to pitch to. We need to work on our strike zone recognition as well. It is OK if our hitters take walks- we took a bunch the other night and barely had any hits but we scored 10 runs. I will take 10 runs from our offense any and every game. We need to emphasize getting on base any way possible whether that is a hit, error, walk, or HBP. Traffic causes pressure and then it makes everyone more dangerous and our solo home runs will start to become 2, 3 run home runs or grand slams. Our doubles and triples will be more impactful. If we are getting shut down we need to have brief team meetings in the dugouts where adjustments are made to hopefully have success.

Baserunning- we run the bases like a Little League team. And because we suck at it that means we can not do things to put pressure on the other team because odds are we are going to screw it up. We had a runner thrown out at third base today for the third out. That to me is probably on the coach because you only take that risk if you are almost 100% sure you can make it. Especially when you are way down. But the runner in that situation has to do what the third base coach tells them to do. If the runner just goes on his own it is still partially on the coach because the runner should be taught to pick up the third base coach and that they can NOT make an out in that situation. Again this comes from working on and emphasizing base running in practice. It covers everything from bunting for a hit to stealing bases to hit and runs and just running around the bases. There is a lot to it- but there is ZERO reason to not be adequate at it. We are awful at bunting. Because we don't work on it. If I were making a staff one of my four assistants would be a baserunning coach who focuses on stealing bases, running the bases, and bunting for hits. Basically ways to put pressure on the other team. We were very good at it under Cohen and we've gotten away from it under Lemonis. But when you have small ball working in tandem with guys who can hit for power you have an offense that is both versatile, balanced and productive. I love home runs and my favorite hitters are all power hitters- Ruth, Pujols, and McGwire- but causing havoc on the bases can win you a lot of games.

Pitching- We talked about this ad nauseum last year and it appears as if we have made improvements. Velocity is a very nice luxury to have but you also have to be able to locate your pitches. We have one of the best pitching labs in the country and we only used it to develop velocity under Foxhall. I saw an interview with Brett Auger who said that before the pitchers just kind of did their own thing. And he was amazed at how Parker was going over scouting reports for opponents months in advance. The pitching lab should be used to develop and maximize what our pitchers can do. And we need to do it in a variety of ways- guys like Cam Schuelke are great to have because an arm angle change like that is very different for a hitter compared to say what a Gavin Black would present them. The emphasis has to be on throwing strikes and attacking hitters. And we need to develop some swag that guys like Ethan Small had. If guys are chirping and stomping on the plate- knock them down the next time. And if the guy charges the mound kick their ass.

Defense- This is much like baserunning in that it is a direct reflection on how hard you work at it. And it HAS TO be repped ad nauseum. Again- I think we have a lot of coaches that expect our player to "should know". But then you up Ron Washington on youtube and he is going through defensive drills with infielders every game at the MLB level. So if the Atlanta Braves rep things ad nauseum at the Big League level why should we at MSU expect our players to just know what to do? Last year with Slate Alford I wouldn't be surprised if none of our assistants went up to him and said "Hey let's work on this after the game and off the day." In this game you have to put the work in to get the rewards. And if you don't put the work in it's going to get exposed.

Leadership- This again is on coaching. Leaders have to be developed by the coaching staff. They shouldn't wait for someone to emerge. Call Hunter Hines and Dakota Jordan into the office in the offseason and tell them that they are the leaders. That the season we have is a direct reflection on what they want the team to be. If there is a senior leader like a Riley Self that emerges that is totally fine. Sometimes the coaches have to push guys to be the leader.

Baseball IQ- Again this is summation from all of the above and just working at the game.

Again- this is just what I see. To me, it's stuff that a good baseball person should know so I don't really feel a bit sorry for Lemonis or his staff because most of this goes back to them when you get down to it. Treating college baseball players like pros is just stupid to me at it's absolute core. But that's also why he's not going to have a job next year either.

[dawgday166]

Good post.

[Cowbell]

We couldn't hit, pitch, or field last year. We changed the pitching coach and that is improved. Maybe change the hitting and head coach and this team can turn it around.

[Todd4State]

We couldn't hit, pitch, or field last year. We changed the pitching coach and that is improved. Maybe change the hitting and head coach and this team can turn it around.

It absolutely could. We have talent- definitely enough talent to be better than what we are producing on the field.

[BrunswickDawg]

That's a classically long T4S post to just say "our coaching sucks" LOL

[TNDawg35]

It absolutely could. We have talent- definitely enough talent to be better than what we are producing on the field.

This! The talent is there, it’s the coaching that ain’t. You can’t tell me baseball American and D1 baseball have had us ranked inside the top 10 classes several years in a row and we have no talent… The talent is there. Once we get rid of Lemon, maybe whoever we hire can wake them up and move them down the road…

[KOdawg1]

Nothing is wrong!

We're 7 games into the season. Baseball is a marathon not a sprint. You can't bring a football mentality to it. Some of y'all don't know baseball. Crazy things happen. Don't melt. It's gonna be okay. Trust the coaches.

Did I cover everything?

[Rawdawg]

We have a big culture problem. I keep saying it because it?s real.

[99jc]

What I see:

To me, what it comes down to is basically a lack of attention to detail and trusting our players to handle things on their own too much and expecting them to do things on their own. You CAN NOT do that in college baseball. The head coach has to be the one that drives the program and makes sure that everything and everyone is doing their job. When we had Ron Polk as our coach in his heyday we were probably the most fundamentally sound team in the country. That only happens because we worked relentlessly at it. Cohen was really good as a baseball coach because he was able to identify leaders through recruiting and he also made sure we had every aspect of the game covered as well. The results from those two coaches speak for themselves. That is the basic summary of what I see. The rest of this post I will go a little more in depth.

There are five tools in baseball- pitching, defense, hitting, hitting for power, and base running and I as a fan have two other areas- leadership and baseball IQ. An elite head coach should address ALL seven tools both in the offseason as well as in season.

Hitting and hitting for power I will lump together for this post. We try to pull the ball too much and we do not do a good job of adjusting to the pitcher or the game situation. And this goes with what I was talking about above. We seem to expect our hitters to know what to do. But the REALITY is all of our hitters were alphas in high school. And therefore they were never or rarely asked to hit situationally because a lot of high school and travel ball coaches do not want to take the bat out of their best hitter or one of their best hitters hands. So when these hitters get to college they HAVE TO be coached what to do in situations and do things that they really haven't been asked to do very much. Like protect the plate, hit the ball to the opposite field, get the ball in the air with a runner on third and less than two outs, etc. Because we are not coaching that- and I know we aren't because NO ONE on the team is doing it unless it's an accident- our hitters are simply doing what they have their whole life. Gautreau allows our hitters to fail too much before fixing them which is why we typically get better as the season goes along- but I do not like that philosophy because IMO you should not allow guys to fail just to fail. We should be working on hitting balls at the full speed of the starting pitcher we are going to face- which we should know from scouting reports, we should be working on hitting off speed, and we should be dedicating part of our practice to situational hitting with every hitter we have. Once we do that our average, OBP, etc. will increase and then along with that our power will improve as well because our hitters will be much more dangerous to pitch to. We need to work on our strike zone recognition as well. It is OK if our hitters take walks- we took a bunch the other night and barely had any hits but we scored 10 runs. I will take 10 runs from our offense any and every game. We need to emphasize getting on base any way possible whether that is a hit, error, walk, or HBP. Traffic causes pressure and then it makes everyone more dangerous and our solo home runs will start to become 2, 3 run home runs or grand slams. Our doubles and triples will be more impactful. If we are getting shut down we need to have brief team meetings in the dugouts where adjustments are made to hopefully have success.

Baserunning- we run the bases like a Little League team. And because we suck at it that means we can not do things to put pressure on the other team because odds are we are going to screw it up. We had a runner thrown out at third base today for the third out. That to me is probably on the coach because you only take that risk if you are almost 100% sure you can make it. Especially when you are way down. But the runner in that situation has to do what the third base coach tells them to do. If the runner just goes on his own it is still partially on the coach because the runner should be taught to pick up the third base coach and that they can NOT make an out in that situation. Again this comes from working on and emphasizing base running in practice. It covers everything from bunting for a hit to stealing bases to hit and runs and just running around the bases. There is a lot to it- but there is ZERO reason to not be adequate at it. We are awful at bunting. Because we don't work on it. If I were making a staff one of my four assistants would be a baserunning coach who focuses on stealing bases, running the bases, and bunting for hits. Basically ways to put pressure on the other team. We were very good at it under Cohen and we've gotten away from it under Lemonis. But when you have small ball working in tandem with guys who can hit for power you have an offense that is both versatile, balanced and productive. I love home runs and my favorite hitters are all power hitters- Ruth, Pujols, and McGwire- but causing havoc on the bases can win you a lot of games.

Pitching- We talked about this ad nauseum last year and it appears as if we have made improvements. Velocity is a very nice luxury to have but you also have to be able to locate your pitches. We have one of the best pitching labs in the country and we only used it to develop velocity under Foxhall. I saw an interview with Brett Auger who said that before the pitchers just kind of did their own thing. And he was amazed at how Parker was going over scouting reports for opponents months in advance. The pitching lab should be used to develop and maximize what our pitchers can do. And we need to do it in a variety of ways- guys like Cam Schuelke are great to have because an arm angle change like that is very different for a hitter compared to say what a Gavin Black would present them. The emphasis has to be on throwing strikes and attacking hitters. And we need to develop some swag that guys like Ethan Small had. If guys are chirping and stomping on the plate- knock them down the next time. And if the guy charges the mound kick their ass.

Defense- This is much like baserunning in that it is a direct reflection on how hard you work at it. And it HAS TO be repped ad nauseum. Again- I think we have a lot of coaches that expect our player to "should know". But then you up Ron Washington on youtube and he is going through defensive drills with infielders every game at the MLB level. So if the Atlanta Braves rep things ad nauseum at the Big League level why should we at MSU expect our players to just know what to do? Last year with Slate Alford I wouldn't be surprised if none of our assistants went up to him and said "Hey let's work on this after the game and off the day." In this game you have to put the work in to get the rewards. And if you don't put the work in it's going to get exposed.

Leadership- This again is on coaching. Leaders have to be developed by the coaching staff. They shouldn't wait for someone to emerge. Call Hunter Hines and Dakota Jordan into the office in the offseason and tell them that they are the leaders. That the season we have is a direct reflection on what they want the team to be. If there is a senior leader like a Riley Self that emerges that is totally fine. Sometimes the coaches have to push guys to be the leader.

Baseball IQ- Again this is summation from all of the above and just working at the game.

Again- this is just what I see. To me, it's stuff that a good baseball person should know so I don't really feel a bit sorry for Lemonis or his staff because most of this goes back to them when you get down to it. Treating college baseball players like pros is just stupid to me at it's absolute core. But that's also why he's not going to have a job next year either.

damn man next time put it on a podcast!

[WinningIsRelentless]

You can be a players coaching staff when you have alpha leaders on the team. You can?t be a players coaching staff when you don?t have alphas on the team. We haven?t had alphas since the championship team.

The reason behind this is probably because in the recruiting process coaches are probably more drawn to the personality type they are. Dangerous combo. You always need one intense bastard on the staff and one players coach on the staff.

[the_real_MSU_is_us]

Todd, I agree with your post, HOWEVER the elephant in the room is that YOU, along with C34, were the only proponents of bringing back Lemo in May or June of last year.

All the flaws you mention in your post are the same flaws we saw the last 2 seasons. Why on earth did you think year 6 would be culturally different from years 4 or 5? Seems like insanity to think year 6 of the same coach would fix the lack of leadership or attention to detail.

I know "he recruits good" was your biggest pro Lemo point, but 1) what's that matter if they aren't coached up when they get here, and 2) do we even look that talented?

Do you still think it was the right decision to bring Lemo back this year?

[BB30]

Can be summed up pretty simply, a lack of discipline in all facets of the game.

Since we've won an NC it seems as though players that didn't contribute at all to that assume because they have a Mississippi state jersey on they are going to be gifted wins.

We have no sense of urgency and don't take advantage of plus situations.

I'm also not sold we have a ton of top end talent on the team. We've got some guys that could play anywhere but we don't have average sec talent at every position. We have hit on few kids and missed on a lot.

[BrunswickDawg]

Todd, I agree with your post, HOWEVER the elephant in the room is that YOU, along with C34, were the only proponents of bringing back Lemo in May or June of last year.

All the flaws you mention in your post are the same flaws we saw the last 2 seasons. Why on earth did you think year 6 would be culturally different from years 4 or 5? Seems like insanity to think year 6 of the same coach would fix the lack of leadership or attention to detail.

I know "he recruits good" was your biggest pro Lemo point, but 1) what's that matter if they aren't coached up when they get here, and 2) do we even look that talented?

Do you still think it was the right decision to bring Lemo back this year?

As a person who was ok with another season, I'll bite -
'21 was easily chalked up to the pitching injuries. Most teams don't recover from losing a guy like Sims, let alone losing your #2 and your closer.
That made '22 the season to measure and give the coach the chance to make changes and recover from. I know a lot disagree with it - but the track record at State has been good enough to justify it.

Was that a mistake? Maybe, cause things don't look good right now. But, I think Selmon now has his feet under him and has made a big hire and we will be in a better place to hire then we would have been last season because of that.

[basedog]

Our talent is not deep at all. Our Leadership from Coaching and players is soft and lacking. Our motivation to succeed is lacking.

This is not MSU Baseball. It's obvious we have a huge problem, I'm afraid it's gone to far to turn things around.

[the_real_MSU_is_us]

As a person who was ok with another season, I'll bite -
'21 was easily chalked up to the pitching injuries. Most teams don't recover from losing a guy like Sims, let alone losing your #2 and your closer.
That made '22 the season to measure and give the coach the chance to make changes and recover from. I know a lot disagree with it - but the track record at State has been good enough to justify it.

Was that a mistake? Maybe, cause things don't look good right now. But, I think Selmon now has his feet under him and has made a big hire and we will be in a better place to hire then we would have been last season because of that.

I think we'll be in a worse position. Let me explain: baseball recruit is done years before they get to campus, and top prospects have a lot of options. What I'm saying is that this will be the 3rd year in a row young teens have seen State suck. That will show up in recruiting. Portal helps us to flip a roster sure, but we don't have the NIL to buy half a team of SEC caliber starters for multiple years in a row before the new coach gets "big guys" in from HS. We are actively digging the hole deeper because loosing begets more loosing. This isn't the NFL where if you suck you get a higher draft pick.

Maybe saving money on Lemos buyout and the lack of a big Portal transfer last year will allow us to spend big on the new coach. But at the cost of an entire baseball season? Seems steep. Moreover, our boosters have a long history of being cheap so I have little confidence in them "rolling over" the savings so to speak vs keeping those savings in their own stock accounts

[Dawgology]

It’s simple. Lemonis is a good recruiter but a bad talent evaluator. We have talented players on the team but we don’t have a central philosophy and we’ve not had one since Lemonis has been here. You have to recruit talent that fits your philosophy and if you don’t have one then you will never make it work. We have 100 pieces running 100 different directions.

[Lord McBuckethead]

They just are not good clutch players. No one on the lineup is a guy you look to to make the play, get the hit, strike a guy out. We have a team full of BETA type of guys. You know the ones that let their GFs get hit on right in front of them by another dude.

[WSOPdawg]

They just are not good clutch players. No one on the lineup is a guy you look to to make the play, get the hit, strike a guy out. We have a team full of BETA type of guys. You know the ones that let their GFs get hit on right in front of them by another dude.

Absolutely. How many times have we had the 2 or 3 or 4 hole hitter up with bases loaded and less than 2 outs and come up empty?

In the past, Rooker, Magnum, Rowdy and Tanner Allen delivered clutch hit after clutch hit... we don't have that player on our team and haven't had them since 2021. That's the biggest problem this year as the pitching is markedly improved aside from 2 of our 7 games so far.

[the_real_MSU_is_us]

They just are not good clutch players. No one on the lineup is a guy you look to to make the play, get the hit, strike a guy out. We have a team full of BETA type of guys. You know the ones that let their GFs get hit on right in front of them by another dude.

That's a symptom of the problem, but it's not the problem itself. The actual problem is that Lemo either doesn't recruit leaders OR he creates a culture where leadership is stifled. This is year 3 of the same "no leadership" problem. At that point ots clearly something Lemo is doing wrong

[ScooterDog]

I hope Selmon reads these posts. I think everything has been well analyzed. He would have a full understanding of what we don?t have and what we need. Our future is in his hands and we can only hope for the best.